1. Field of the Inventtion
The present invention relates generally to cleaning apparatus, and more specifically to hose cleaning apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As fewer and fewer people have the time and inclination to clean their own carpets, it is becoming increasingly common for carpet owners to hire professional carpet cleaners to clean their carpets. While some small, unusual carpets can be removed for cleaning, the typical wall-to-wall style carpet is left installed during the cleaning process. As it happens, cleaning of installed carpeting with manually portable cleaning apparatus is too time-consuming to be practical, and therefore, a cleaning vehicle (such as a van) with long, deployable cleaning hoses is commonly used. Unfortunately, such hoses tend to be unwieldy and, when dirty, can cause more harm than good, inasmuch as dirt accidentally placed on the hose is spread onto every piece of furniture and carpeting that the hose touches as a worker drags the hose to the carpet meant to be cleaned. Thus, it is important to clean the cleaning hoses, themselves, in order to avoid "dirtying" a carpet or furniture when actually intending to clean carpet. Dirty hoses on carpets are an especially pernicious problem because dragging the hoses over carpets generates static electricity, which tends to bind dirt strongly to the carpet.
A problem encountered with cleaning standard cleaning hoses, however,is that cleaning hoses generally have a ridged configuration. This ridged configuration has the advantage of providing extensibility to a cleaning hose, but this configuration simultaneously has the disadvantage of making cleaning of the cleaning hose rather difficult. Prior cleaning apparatus have failed to meet the clear need for an apparatus that cleans cleaning hoses, in the way the present invention does.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,189,935, issued to Arthur B. Euga, on Jun. 22, 1965, shows a device for cleaning tubular articles, including imperfect cylinders. The device has a plurality of sponge fingers that rub against the tubular articles. There is no provision of jets that propel water to all surfaces of a tubular article.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,175, issued to William J. Hillis, on Mar. 5, 1985, shows an apparatus for cleaning fire hoses via a plurality of opposed bristle brushes. Water jets spray water at a hose as it passes through the apparatus. There is no hose-surrounding base having attached overspray guards.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,577, issued to David E. Fowler, on Mar. 12, 1985, shows a hose decontaminator that provides high-pressure Freon and brushes configured to decontaminate pipes and hoses in the decontaminator. There is no hose-surrounding base having attached overspray guards.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,950, issued to Reynold A. Schenke et al., on Apr. 5, 1988, shows an apparatus for cleaning elongated members, such as pipe, by passing the members through a container having helically disposed brushes and gravity-fed cleaning solvent. There is no hose-surrounding base having attached overspray guards.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,861, issued to Charles Bokat, on Jan. 7, 1992, shows a hose cleaner that is generally cylindrical and hingedly opens, apparently to aid construction. Water flows in two directions to aid brushes in cleaning of a hose passed through the cleaner. There is no hose-surrounding base having attached overspray guards.
Swedish Patent Document No. 81501, issued to J. 0. N. Oberg, on Sep. 18, 1934, shows a device having brushes, through which a hose can be passed. There is no hose-surrounding base having attached overspray guards.
Italian Patent Document No. 604183, issued to Giorgio Balasso, on Apr. 29, 1960, shows a device in which a plurality of brushes rotatedly engage a cylindrical member. There is no hose-surrounding base having attached overspray guards.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.